Pup's 1st Birthday

Yup, this pup is 1. Although we have not been here for a year, our beloved German Shepherd is celebrating his first year in Idaho.

Yes he is truly an Idahoan puppy. I’m not sure if you recall the story of how we acquired said dog, but I’ll retell it in just in case.

You see we were moving here from Chicago during one of the coldest spells in December. We wanted to be here and set up before Christmas. Our luck ran out in our last town and we needed a change. Our visit last summer brought us as far as Sandpoint and Coure D’Alene. It was love at first sight and we knew we were destined to move here.

Fast forward to December as we are trekking our way through the states traveling West. Now you may remember that I hadn’t even seen the house we were buying except in pictures and a poorly shot video. We also didn’t know as much about the area as we should have prior to moving. If you know us well, we can be spontaneous people.  We packed and moved within a 6 week time frame.

Here we are on our last leg of the trip passing through Utah and entering into Idaho. We stop for the night somewhere around Idaho Falls. Hubby has always wanted a dog and a German Shepherd was it. I think he had been searching for one all during our trip. The morning of our last leg, he shows me a picture of the cutest puppies and well who couldn’ t resist.

He said, “Hey, would you like to go and check out some puppies?” Anyone knows that “check out” is code for “Hey, come look at these irresistible dogs that you will end up taking home with you!” That is about how it went. We stopped off at a pet store along the way to get us set up. You know the essentials: dog food, treats, toys, leash, collar, and bed.  Yes you read correctly, we bought these things before we purchased the dog. Why? We didn’t know if we were going to encounter another store before we got home.

Speaking of home, I forgot to mention that we were still 6 hours away from our final destination.

We get to the house where they are selling the dogs and we quickly choose one because it is freezing outside. The kids are extremely excited and want to hold him in their laps. So, we manage a way for him to sit on 2 out of 3 kids laps because that is how big he is. It becomes a bit unstable for him and the kids are complaining

because he is heavy.

There is no other room in our vehicle because the back is jammed packed with our worldly belongings. Yes we picked up this creature along the way. We are still 5 hours out and through a moutainess journey.

Can you guess where the dog ended up riding? Yup, on my lap. Now he is way too big to be on anyone’s lap.

Happy 1^st birthday Pup! This name has stuck and all others have failed. Yes, I did make his cake as I do all of my children. The kids were super excited to celebrate his day. Along with making his cake, we bought him some new toys. 

Boom, Pop, Fizz

Today the kids turned in their paper filled with circles for the library’s reading program. This started in June and kids were encouraged to read a book or have a book read to them (young ones). At the end, you returned your paper. They would donate $1 to the humane society, the older kids got a button and pencil, and the younger one got stickers and a growth chart. Then they each got to pick out a book to keep.

I am extremely happy that my kids were able to participate in the summer reading program at our library. First all, two of them are able to read books confidently for the first time. Although I have always read to them and have been trying get them to read on their own—it has only started working.

My style of teaching is a bit lax and I let them guide me as to what they want to do. I have taught them phonics and have felt that one day it will all come together. We had been reading and I have had a lot of push back from them.

This summer reading program came at a perfect time because I felt Braedon was now becoming an independent reader. I still felt that he needed more guidance and assistance when he encountered words he could not pronounce. He would get frustrated and want to give up. The program is designed to have the parent keep track of the books the kids read. I would tell him every day that he needed to read a book in order to fill in his circle for the day.

We would go to the library and they could choose the books they wanted. I would also choose books I felt would help propel them to the next level. Both boys are gaining more confidence and well the little one just loves all books.

I am grateful for the helpful staff and the large assortment of books. Coming from Chicago, this library is a sanctuary for our homeschooling family.  In Chicago, I always felt like a criminal checking out books, you could only hold 3 books, when you requested a hold it took about a week or more, and often you could not find the books you went to get. I know that the Chicago was understaffed and probably underpaid. That is why I find our new library so refreshing.

I was super surprised my kids were so happy with the prizes they received. I told them they should be grateful for whatever they get because normally when they read books, they don’t get anything in return. They were thrilled and thanked the staff member.

I just might have to create my own reward system to continue the journey. They did still push back a bit, but I can push harder. I want to build strong confident readers and I know it will lead to strong-well-spoken children. 

Fire, fire, fire--oh wait it is just smoke, smoke, smoke

I woke up yet again to the smell of smoke.  Once again, I look out all of my windows and I can’t see anything. I just smell it. There is a significant breeze coming in from the southwest and this time it smells like wood. I veered outside and it was very hazy from where the wind was blowing.

Earlier this week I awoke at 3am to heavy smoke which smelled like BBQ or garbage. Really? Neighbors can you really be cooking at that hour. I thought it was garbage and that maybe they weren’t supposed to be burning it. Do we have sneaky neighbors?

Not really knowing what I should do, I phoned the fire department for advice. I was given Joe Williams’, Fire Marshall, voice mail. Oh, I’m in for it now the Fire Marshall. I just left him a message about my concern. He phoned me back promptly, but was unable to comfort me. There were no reported fires that evening in our area. 

Darn, I was sure it had to be something serious.

His advice was to drive around and snoop (I mean get to know) my neighbors.  I should see what they are up to and find out the burning regulations in my area. He also stated that the wind matters a great deal. You can smell fires burning from miles away. He said that we should keep our hoses out in case of a fire, keep an area of green around our home, and report anything. I asked specifically what does “anything” mean? He said they would come out no matter what I reported and they would do their best to track down the fire.

Now I know better not to report a fire until you see flames, but he made it sound like I can call with any concerns. Ok that did make me feel a bit better, but I don’t want to waste their time looking for something when they can actually be putting out a real fire.

Probably as the season moves on and we hopefully get more rain, we will be immune to the whole wildfire frenzy. We will then get excited as the weather turns colder and the smell of tamarack, oak, or other woods are burning in chimneys (where they are contained).

For now dear neighbors if you are planning a BBQ after the 10pm hour, I must insist upon an invitation. Otherwise, I might be running with my hose and may have even phoned Moscow FD. 

Meeting Novella Carpenter

I met one of my idols today. Ok, perhaps I shouldn’t call her an idol but more of an inspirational person. Her name is Novella Carpenter and she is the author of two books: Farm City and Gone Feral (if you haven’t read them they are good reads and funny).

Farm City was recommended to me by two dear friends, Hilary L. and Elizabeth B.  When I was living in Chicago, I was lucky to have a small backyard that was solely mine. I had tried to bit a vegetable gardening, but it wasn’t working out. It wasn’t an ideal situation. I inquired with my friends about what to do and they suggested Novella’s book.

I loved hearing about her struggles and successes about farming and raising animals. Her words practically jumped out of the book and spoke to me. It said, “Malissa, I am doing these things and you should too.” I thought I should get to work right away, but I didn’t. 

First, I knew that I couldn’t raise any animals on University property. Secondly, my husband’s work wasn’t going as well as we planned.

We needed a huge break from life and went on a 2 week vacation West and Idaho ended up being our final destination. As you may have read in my prior posts, we fell in love with this state and were trying to figure out a way to come here. When we returned back to Chicago, my passion to transform the backyard was set aside. I didn’t want to invest time and money into a space I no longer loved or cherished. It was time to move.

When Rich was denied tenure, we were a bit relieved and that sealed our fate. Idaho here we come, but where? Luckily he was able to secure a job in Pullman and it became a no brainer for us to move to the Idaho side. Then the question remains do we live in town or buy some land? Our realtor answered that question for us and found us a house with 3 acres.

I finally have some land to make a garden, have some animals, and do whatever I choose. Of course we bought a chicken killer dog and that eliminates the chickens. We are still exploring our area and getting settled. I am sure we will be getting something at some point. Bees anyone?  So when things get tough, I remind myself of some of Novella’s experiences and tell myself I can do it.

Novella and I have a lot of similar experiences in life and it was nice to be able to share mine with her. It was especially a treat to share them with her sister as well. It is a funny feeling meeting the real-life characters from a book because you feel as though you already know them before you meet them. I was also thrilled to meet their daughters.

She stated she is going to write another Non-fiction book and perhaps some fiction as well. I can’t wait to read about her latest adventures.

As for me, you are reading mine right now and perhaps one day I too will write a book from Idaho.

 

Idaho isn't all about potatoes...

You know Idaho just isn’t about growing potatoes?

Did you know Idaho has the largest dam built in Western Hemisphere?

We recently took a trip to Orofino, ID to visit the Dworshak Dam and Reservoir.  It was truly massive and amazing to understand the reason it was built.

Apparently the river would flood every spring and Nez Perce Indians learned to live with the flood cycle. In 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition visited the Indians on their way to the Pacific Ocean. They were looking for lumber to build canoes. Other settlers came to the area, but as the years past and the flooding continued, they were unable to build a homestead.

In 1973, Congress agreed to build the dam to help with flood control, hydropower production, and natural resource management. It took 7 years and $327 million dollars to complete. The dam is a helpful resource to the Columbia-Snake River. The dam controls a drainage area of 2,500 square miles in the Clearwater Basin.

The hydropower market can yield more than $50 million in revenues annually. Some of that income is used to repay the U.S. Treasury for the construction costs.

There are three hydroelectric generators in the powerhouse, one rated 220, 000 kilowatt capacity and two with 90,000 kilowatt capacities.   

The area is a wonderful recreational source for fishing, boating, camping, swimming, and hiking.  We were not able to participate in these activities, but we will certainly return.

Along with the Dam, Orofino has the oldest Ponderosa in existence. It has been serving customers for 57 years and still going.

I hope you enjoy our adventures in Idaho. 

Well I live with snakes and lizards and other things that go bump in the night

Whew, thought I was going to have a hard attack when trying to do some simple gardening. Yup, it is definitely spring time here in Palouse. The birds are fluttering, the bees are buzzing, bunnies are hoping and well snakes are slithering.

I was talking to Rich the other night about all of the animals we had seen. I said that I hadn’t seen any rabbits yet and thought it was strange. Then the next evening, I was looking outside and saw one running up our driveway. Then I had to think what else could be out there for us to explore?  I know there are frogs in the nearby pond because I can hear them croaking at night.

While Rich is roofing the garage, I came across a baby frog just hanging out in the lean to. I thought it was strange for him to be hanging out there without any water. He was in the shade and there probably are tons of bugs for him to eat.

I knew the weather was going to be getting nicer, and thought I would begin the task of gardening and some outside landscaping. As I was just beginning to reach down to pull some weeds, something slithered away. It was very fast and blended in with the ground. My first thought was perhaps it was a salamander or lizard type creature, but then my mind went straight to a snake. I ran away screaming, but never pass up an educational experience for my kids.

I ran to grab a broom to push through the weeds to locate said animal. The boys were standing on some logs and I figured that would be a great hiding place. They slowly began to move the logs and sure enough, one snake was staring back at us. He quickly departed and as we were talking about him, he seemed to disappear again. We thought he had gone under the other logs, but he was really fast. I turned the corner and saw him just as he was going into a whole in the ground. I figured we had scared him enough and needed to be one with nature. One of my kids wanted to immediately dig him up, but I was unsure of what kind of snake it was and said we needed to leave him alone.

Rich and I figure that it if seems to be a harmless snake, it would be good to eat the bugs and mice around our property. You know the food chain? I looked up at what could it possibly be, and think it is a gopher snake. This would be right on the money because someone told us that we had gophers because of some of the holes in our yard. I do feel bad for the gophers.  In fact, I don’t recall seeing any. If there is a gopher snake present, one would guess that gophers are present as well.

I am thrilled we have this opportunity for my kids to explore and see things they would not have it we still lived in Chicago. We can’t wait to see more of Idaho!

Broke, broke and broke

When we moved to our home here in Moscow, we knew it needed a little love and care. We thought we had a bit of time before we had to do anything major. The idea that some of our appliances were old did cross our minds. Our kitchenaid dishwasher started to leave water after the rinse cycle. It was strange but it only did it after some cycles and not others. Rich tried his hand at fixing the machine by taking it apart. He soon realized he was in over his head and could not quite figure out the problem. We called a repair man to assess the situation. Our thoughts were the pump, but it turned out to be the relay. Sad but they don’t make the relays anymore and a new machine would be in store for us. One would think, yeah a new machine, but not me. This dishwasher was 20 years old and they don’t make them like the used to. You might be lucky to get 5 years out of your dishwasher. That is just plain sad. I was heartbroken to see Bessie go, but then Lucy the LG model arrived. Yes she is very shiny and does a wonderful job. But will she last? This was broke object number 1.

Our car is awesome. We love it and we will run it into the ground before we get rid of it. We did a checkup before we left Chicago. All seemed well until recently. She too was giving us a hard time making screeching noises around the tires and another squeaky noise we could not locate. We phoned a mechanic one day because Rich was driving the car and the tire seized up. He thought it might be a rock in the tire and just to back up. Well that trick seemed to work, but she was still making those squeaky noises. I finally convinced Rich to bring it in because these noises were not going away and I was starting to get scared to drive the car. It turns out there was rust on one of the brake pads that was rubbing and making one of the sounds. The other is a bearing of some sort which is a major part. Yes the car is drive able, but at some point it just might not work. We are awaiting a part to come in and get her fixed. Again, we love her and want her to be at her best.

Large puppies and kids just don’t mix. My kids love their German Shepherd, but forget that he is more than their size when he stands on his hind legs. They also do not realize the dog probably weights more than them. The dog has his adult teeth in now as well and they are very sharp. The kids tend to be rough with the dog as they see he can be aggressive. They like to play chase with him, but shepherd dogs like use their teeth to “assist” with whatever they are shepherding. He does well shepherding the kids, but it hurts. When you run away from him, he especially loves to bite you from behind to get your attention. It is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Well someone did get hurt. Braedon was playing with him while trying to get dressed. The dog jumped on the couch and Braedon’s arm got caught. He went one way and his arm went the other direction. The result is a broken radius and ulna. The doctor calls it a fracture but it is clearly broken. Rich happened to be out of town during this incident and I had to pull it all together. He had surgery to insert two pins into his bone marrow to straighten the bones. The doctor tried to repair them with the pins, but the bones were unstable. It was a traumatic experience for the whole family, but as time passed we all heal. So far Braedon is doing well. He will see the doctor soon for an update and will have to have surgery again to remove the pins.

If it isn’t broke,  don’t fix it—yeah right! We are gradually making changes to our house to make it more homey and put our stamp on it. Minor repairs, paint, pillows, and art have made a difference. I decided that our shower head was not sufficient. I’ve wanted to change it for some time, but Rich stated he would get around to doing it. I thought how hard is it to remove a shower head and replace it? I have had prior experience when we lived in Massachusetts and had success twice. We have very hard water and apparently the shower head was difficult to detach. I ended up breaking off the pipe that led into the wall. Oops. Luckily there wasn’t much of the pipe left and Rich was able to get it out. We now have a new shower head, yeah!

So, what have we learned? For one, everything can be fixed. Sure things get broken or fractured but with time and money it will work itself out. Appliances, rotors, and pipes can be replaced. Fractures can be healed especially in young kids. The best thing to do is not to panic because it will work it out. It just has to because that is the way life runs. It will continue on and give you roadblocks along the way. 

Wood stove

Ok, so you bought a 4700 square foot home right at the peak of winter not really knowing your heating system. What you say you bought a house not knowing the heating system? Sure we knew it had a wood stove and base board heating, but we weren’t sure about a forced air system without a furnace.

Rich grew up having a wood stove in his house and he said it warmed up pretty much most of the house. We thought this would be a great cost saving way to stay warm without breaking the budget. Little did we know exactly all the costs involved.

First, there is the notion of getting wood. Where does one get wood during the winter time? It is not like you can go to Walmart and ask for a cord of wood. Hey Walmart—do you sell wood and can you please deliver?  Moving to a new town far away when you don’t know anyone can be a disadvantage. We found a nice guy on craigslist who would deliver the wood for a “going” rate. We had no idea how much wood we needed and how long it was going to last. We didn’t even know what kind of wood we were getting and if it was the right kind. We sort of just jumped into it blindly and hoped it would work itself out. Luckily, the guy we hired was very kind and gave us a tutorial on wood. The down side was that he would come and dump the wood into a huge pile. A cord of wood is 4 x 8, can you envision how much that is? You then had to stack it up into your lean-to.

Yup, a lean to. You say what is a lean to? Websters definition: is a shack or shed supported at one side by trees or posts and having an inclined roof. We stack the wood in our “shed” which is about 40 feet away from the house. Then we must somehow transport our wood into our house and then downstairs to the wood stove. Rich decided we should put as much wood as possible into our SUV and drive up as close to the door as possible. Then we would fill up our wood pile on the first floor by our fireplace.

Are you tired yet? We certainly were after hauling the wood in the lean to, putting some into the car and then on the first floor of our house. We still had to get the wood to the wood stove by hauling a few logs at a time down a flight of stairs. I could only manage to carry one or two logs. The wood would get all over me and inside my clothing. This was a rough process, but having the wood stove on when you are cold is incredible.

Rich found a few items that would assist in our log hauling duties. He found a log caddy which is very helpful loading up and bringing it into the house. Rich then just loads it up and makes a few trips down the stairs. He also purchased a leather log carrier to haul the wood down as well. I can carry about 4 logs and not get any of the shavings on me. Are you thinking what I am? This is a lot of work for heat? The answer is yes as our heating bill was much less the second month.

At one point, we thought is this worth it? I said that we needed to get through this first winter, make mistakes, make corrections, and enjoy the stove.

What mistakes have we made? We bought a cord of wood from a new person and it was not cut. Rich had to purchase a splitter and chop by hand. This is where we felt like we were really living in the woods. Although, Rich felt as if he needed a chainsaw and well we ordered one of those as well. We still had to navigate a few weeks before we purchased the chainsaw.  

Lessons: Try not to shove as many pieces of wood into the stove if you have glass doors. That happened one fateful morning before Rich headed off to work. We only have one car and he needed to leave right away. We had a day and ½ without the stove.

It is really nice to sit by the woodstove. I compare it to a campfire that produces heat with all the campfire smell.

Downside: it does not fully heat our entire home. Perhaps if it was centrally located and we had a smaller house, it may do the trick. We did have to use our baseboard heater in our room and set the kids heater to turn on at a certain temperature.

As the weather here is starting to warm up, we no longer need to charge down the steps to load wood in about every hour. Although I have to admit this was a great way to get some exercise. We still are using it at night and in the early mornings until it warms up.  

Once the season changes, we reevaluate what we have learned and see if we can be proficient in our logging and hauling. At least we are toasty and warm! 

To get chickens or not to get chickens, that is the question...

Have you read Farm City by Novella Carpenter?  Ever since I’ve read her book, I have been obsessed with wanting to raise farm animals and growing a garden. I thought if she can do it, so can I!

It was great reading her about her accomplishments and her failures. Little did I know that I would be moving to the state where she was raised and very close to the city where her father currently resides.

Now that we have land and it is ours to do with what we wish, what are we going to do? I know I want to plant a garden and planning has already begun. I need to get some seeds and start sowing. I have some idea of what will grow and what won’t. I’ve gotten advice from many sources and I have a wonderful book to guide me. I think I am in good hands regarding getting started.

I have been doing some research on chickens. My head is spinning with all of the possibilities, but I have serious doubts. Right now, I am overwhelmed taking care of this huge house, homeschooling the kids, training a puppy, maintaining a wood stove, and keeping my sanity. There is enough to keep my busy almost all the time.

Do I have time in my schedule to even care for chickens? Sure as the weather warms up I won’t have to maintain the wood stove for heat. That will certainly be a huge load off my plate. Then I will have the garden to plan, cultivate, build, plant, and maintain.

Yup, I need to build my garden. You see we have a lot of wild animals roaming freely who would love a tasty treat. So far I have seen deer, mice, birds, turkeys, and moose. Although I am enjoying the beauty nature has to offer, I therefore must build at least a 6 foot fence around my garden. Apparently, deer can jump fences! A fact I was certainly not aware.

Luckily, I have already gotten a few offers to help build my garden, but not so confident about chickens.  We would have to build or buy a chicken coop and then figure out where is the best place to house them. Its tough right now because it is still winter and we don’t know what our landscape really looks like with all of the foliage.

So, perhaps we might skip this season getting chickens and may devote our time on other projects. I really do want chickens, but I may just have to set them aside for now. This is a tough realization and heartbreaking for me as you might be able to tell by my post. I will keep the idea on the back of the list and perhaps it might move up as time passes. 

We are in the book

When we first moved here, the previous owners left a phone book in a drawer. I thought this would come in handy to look up businesses in the area.

As I was perusing the book, I saw that it was not only for our area but also for a town 30 miles south of us. This book wasn't even that thick. Which made me wonder just how many people live in this town and the surrounding area? (The last census done in 2012 states 24,499)

We live in a college town and with my experience; there is a lot of transition. I think since we don’t live in the immediate town, but 10 miles outside, that our neighbors are more homesteaders.

It is neat to meet new people and discover how they arrived here. Did they come because of family, job, land, or they liked the area?

I mentioned our kind neighbor who helped jump start our car in my last post. We introduced ourselves and talked a bit about what we do for a living. After his help, he said if you need anything, “we are in the book.”

I about busted out laughing and asked, is this real? I am reminded of the movie "The Jerk" when Steve Martin's character is so happy to find his name in the phone book. In case you need a refresher you can go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7aIf1YnbbU Sure enough, I checked to see if our neighbor was listed and I certainly found him.

The next person to mention they were in the book was our plow guy. Again, he introduced himself and said if I needed anything, that he was in the book. I immediately looked him up because he was an important number to have on hand and sure enough I found him.

I can only remember being in one phone book when we lived in Frankfort Square. I also still remember my phone number: 815-469-3368. It did not list our area code because area codes didn’t mean that much back then. This is a funny thing around here because the whole state of Idaho only has one area code: 208.

When I first got here and people gave me just a 7 digit number, I immediately asked,” What is the area code?”  I sure did a get a bunch of funny looks. The funniest looks I got are when people ask me for my number and I spout off a 10 digit number with a 617 area code. I get the "you aren't from these parts looks."

You are certainly right, I am not from these parts and I don’t think we will be listed in the phone book. You see we are terminating our 617 number because it no longer serves a purpose and are just using our cell phones.

I will never be able to say, "look me up, I'm in the book."

I never rely on the kindness of strangers

Rich and I got married at a young age. We left the nest and headed off to Texas leaving our families behind and start a new life. We’ve made some friends along the way and am luck that we are still in touch with some of them.

Along our journey, we have relied upon our friends from time to time, but really relied upon ourselves mostly. I think we were taught to just do things yourself. This way you aren’t upsetting your friends or asking them for things that might strain the relationship.

Another key factor is that we have always lived in an apartment in a city setting (except when we lived in Newton, MA). If we ever had a problem with something not working in our apartment, we just called the maintenance crew or owners. Sometimes we tackled the problems ourselves, but always knew we could rely on them to fix the problem.

When we moved from Texas to Massachusetts, we were met with people who are going about their own business. Many people would hardly stop if you were asking them a question or needed assistance. I have heard that those New Englanders were not friendly and I soon found out why. They aren’t getting the sleep required to be a nice. They wake up grumpy most mornings because their TV programs don’t end until 11pm. Something I could not quite understand considering the East Coast begins their day an hour before people in the central time zone. I know this first hand as I lived it for 6 years.

It was interesting when we moved to Newton, MA and Rich decided he was going to get up early and ride his motorcycle to work after an icy snow storm. Braedon was only a few months old and sleep was very precious. I kept hearing this strange noise of tires burning against ice. Then I would hear rumbling in our house and more tires screeching. Of course I had no choice but to get up and find out what the heck was going on outside. When I say early, it was just before sunrise and I was shocked Rich was going to work on his motorcycle. He was determined, but could not get the bike up the hill of our driveway. We had neighbors and probably could have asked them, but again it was way early in the morning. Finally after a bit of pushing and some boards, off he went and I had to drag my tired body into the house to take care of a newborn. This would be a foreshadowing of what was to come…

Chicago was no different except we met a few nice people, but a lot of people were too busy. Our neighborhood was full of transient people being that it was a community made up of students, professors or other related to the university. We knew our time wasn’t permanent and finding friends was not very easy.  It was a place filled with judgment, ridicule, and keeping up with one another—a game I hated. I found some true friends with whom I am grateful for their knowledge and non-judgmental views. Again, we didn’t rely or have to rely on them too much.

We knew that moving to Idaho was going to be challenging, but we didn’t realize the challenges would arrive so quickly. Our first encounter comes when Rich accidently let car battery die. He was outside working on the car and in the garage. The radio was keeping him company and then got distracted when our chairs were being delivered. He brought them in and then went on to do something else. He was supposed to pick up the rest of the furniture later in the day, but alas the car was dead.

Most of our lives we had two vehicles. When we moved to MA, we sold my car because we were moving to the city and street parking was a premium. Plus there was a great transit system and we didn’t really need anything more. Rich soon bought a motorcycle and then we were getting ready to have our 1^st child. We needed something more reliable and larger (not really but we thought so at the time) and sold our BMW to get the Mercedes. When we moved to Chicago, we did not have room for the motorcycle not did Rich have the time to drive it, so we sold it. The city offered great transportation and we were living 10 minutes from Rich’s work, so another car was not needed.

Here we are now in Idaho with one vehicle and living about 15 minutes from town. Rich had to find one of the neighbors to help jump start him. We were only here for about 1 week before relying on strangers. It was actually quite nice because we were able to meet someone and get an idea of the neighborhood. He was very friendly and we were in shock at how kind he was to us.

Not more than a week later, we rented a Uhaul to pick up some furniture we purchased. A whole leather couch, mini couch, an ottoman, and another vintage couch had to fit into this Uhaul. We needed furniture and I was tired of college furniture. We were not thinking clearly when we decided to pick up these items as it had been snowing. Of course it was getting dark and we ventured back home thinking we could easily get up our hill pulling this Uhaul. It was a sad sight when we almost made up the hill and then began to be dragged backwards. It was too slippery and we could not get traction to gain momentum up the hill.  Luckily, our other neighbor saw we were stuck and came to our rescue. He offered several suggestions, we dug out several spots and lots of kitty litter. We certainly grateful for his help and knew we could rely on him if we needed anything.  We were exhausted at this point and didn’t care if we sat on our floors for the rest of our lives.

Earlier in the week, Rich had hurt his back after we were swing around a cord of wood we purchased for our wood stove. I knew we were in trouble because our moving truck from Chicago was due to arrive the next morning. The car and Uhaul were clearly in the way and had to be moved. We needed to get the contents out of there this evening. Again, we had to rely on strangers for help. Rich quickly dialed a few people he was working with to see if they could come and help at 7pm at night. We were desperate because I couldn’t do it by myself and we didn’t want to risk further injury to Rich’s back. Surprisingly, the 2 brothers came right away and moved the furniture inside in minutes. They even hooked the Uhaul to their trucks and returned it for us.

I was in such shock and awe at the tremendous hospitality that was showered upon us in one evening. We were not sure if the move out here was a good idea, but with such wonderful people we have met thus far, it seems to be just right.

So, we do rely in the kindness of strangers.

You bought a house site unseen?

You bought a house sight unseen? Yup!

We are going to be celebrating 20 years of marriage this year. I can not believe it. In our 20 years, we have lived in an apartment in the following cities: College Station, Houston, Boston, and Chicago. When we lived in Newton, Ma, we had an opportunity to rent a duplex when Braedon was born. This was our first experience in “home ownership”. We had a bit of land, fireplace, more room, and that homey feel.

When we moved to Chicago, we had one child at who was almost one and another child on the way. We met with a realtor and searched around Hyde Park looking at condo after condo and even a town home. Because we were unsure of the best location and just didn’t have a good idea, we decided to move into a 2 bedroom apartment temporarily until we got our bearings.  I say temporarily because I did not want to live in a cramped apartment for more than 1 year. Our family was expanding and I wanted more space.

After a year, we began our search again knowing the area very well. Again, we looked at more condos and a few town homes. Our biggest downfall was money. The market was at its highest and we only had one income. We found a townhome we could afford and really took our time inspecting the place. In the end, we felt we were rushing to meet our need to have a bigger place. The space would have worked, but we did not want to overextend ourselves financially.

The search continued and about a few years later the prices dropped. The mortgage crisis had hit and we thought this is great for us. Another town home in a different part of town hit the market and we were hooked. It was smaller than the other townhome, but it had a bit of land we could utilize. We immediately placed a very low bid. We had researched the market and knew the prices. After all, we were looking for 4 years now. This was a very hot property and we were naïve first time buyers. The seller’s agent was not very nice to us and it scared us off. We again held off, but continued searching online.

By this time we had child number three and we were at maximum capacity. It is amazing how creative one can be in tiny spaces. One of our saving graces is that we had an outdoor space that was the length of our apartment. We had an 8-foot-high brick wall which did not allow them to get out or intruders into our space. We could go outside even if it was just for a few minutes or for hours. This also allowed us to put up a bird feeder to view the local foul and we were visited daily by a few squirrels.

As more time passed and the kids began to grow, I felt our need for a home, a yard, space, and the idea of owing something. We thought a move to the suburbs was going to give us all that we wanted. Sure that would mean a major commute for Rich, but we thought it might be worth the price. We found ourselves admiring the Palos Park area and found a home that had great land, but the house was small. I thought it was a good price and we could always expand. It needed some work and updating, but that is what we love about these houses. You can put your own stamp on it throughout the time you live there. We were so in love with this house, we called the realtor to take a tour. It was lovely. Rich was hesitant, we still needed to build up our egg nest and he wasn’t sure about the commute. So, we passed.

Our search continued as we looked online and drove around houses near my parents, but there was always something that dissuaded us. It was either location, something wrong with the house, too close to the highway, and crime that made is run the other way. I thought for sure we would never get a house and we would be living in our apartment.

I finally gave Rich an ultimatum that we either needed to buy something or we were going to rent. Since the housing market was terribly, rent was not cheap and therefore it was not an option. I didn’t know what to do. All I could do is just keep living day to day and support my hubby. 

Then we went on a vacation traveling west and landing in Idaho. Everything was magical, new, and exciting. Who wouldn’t want to pack up and go to a new land? This is what are forefather’s did, right? Surprisingly, when we returned back to Chicago, we began driving around Palos again and started searching again.

We happened upon a house in Palos we thought we could afford, but it was a fixer-upper. It had no kitchen, the bathrooms were gutted, but we saw there was a lot of potential. This was a bank-owned house and we placed a bid. The bank counteroffered and came down only a bit. We could not afford the full price and still be able to fix it up. The bank didn’t really want to budge on the price, but we knew all of the details of the house and how much money it would take to just get in the door. We had a price in mind of where we felt comfortable living and maintain the house. It was very, very tight. Was this what we wanted in home ownership? We were already going to be knee deep in repairs before we get into the house. We stood firm on our price, but the bank would not come down. We passed again.

Luckily, we did because soon after we found Rich had lost his job. Sure if we bought the house, Rich could have found something else, but I feel he would be settling. Of course if you read the prior posts, you know how we ended up in Idaho.

When we were considering this move, we looked online at a lot of houses, land, and various options. During Rich’s interview, he was able to drive around, tour houses, and get a lay of the land. He took videos and gave me his opinions of what would work for us. You see, Rich never purchases anything (well almost anything) without doing research first. There are times when I get frustrated because I just need an item, but he always waits.

I trust his vision and heck after almost 20 years of marriage; I would think he would know me very well. He did a terrific job picking out our house and we are living our dream.

                                                                                       

Movers

When we decided we were going to move out of Chicago to Idaho, I had no idea how we were going to choose a moving company. I researched my parents group because there are a lot of families moving in and out of our area. I checked Angie’s list, yahoo, yelp, and other websites. Did you know that there is no such thing as a perfect moving company?

So, how do you choose the worst of the worst or the not so worst?

I was told by a friend to get multiple quotes and do not go with the cheapest. Our deadline was tight, just two weeks. Yup, we were moving in 2 weeks!

After phoning 2 companies to come out for a quote, I was nervous about who was going to show up at my house and how was this process going to work. You see, I am a very do-it-yourself kind of gal. Each time I’ve moved, I’ve handled everything myself. Moving from IL to IN, IN to TX, TX to MA, and MA to IL, we did it all on our own. Yes it was time consuming and hard. We also didn’t have as much stuff and on the last move, we only had one child. Moving 3 kids, a cat, and a 2 bedroom apartment crammed full of stuff was not something I could not handle nor wanted to handle across country.

The first moving company sent their representative out immediately and he was very kind. He explained the process, described the company’s philosophy, and was very timely with the estimate. The second moving company’s representative cancelled his appointment with me.  He rescheduled and was not as through and was just a little put-offish. He just seemed like he had better places to be and did not really make me feel comfortable.

When I received both estimates, I began to worry. They were off by $1000. This made me wonder what the difference was and what was really happening? I really liked the 1^st company and wanted to go with them, but they were just too expensive. After all, we were packing all of our items our self, so I didn’t quite understand.  I would contact the representative and he would never get back to me. I finally made a call to the company itself and ask for clarification. After negotiating for a few days, the owner of the company phoned me and said he wanted my business. He was willing to work with me and we agreed upon a price. I was relieved because our moving date was fast approaching.

We had to give them a pick up window and in return they would give us a delivery window. Our window was very small—only 2 days. Our neighbors were moving the same week and had scheduled their move later in the week. We had no choice but to schedule ours earlier. This ended up being a good thing as it motivated us to get packing quicker. Now their delivery window is another topic.

I was extremely nervous because I had read a bunch of horror stories about other people’s experiences. Movers were not showing up, not labeling items correctly, breaking things, not showing up on time, and not being able to speak English. I was already under enough pressure to make sure everything was packed before they arrived and to make sure we had everything we needed because it was going to be a while before our stuff was delivered. We were heading out on the road immediately after the movers took our stuff. It was going to take us 5 days to get to our destination and I had to pack things for us to use while in our new home. We were going to campout until our stuff arrived.

Luckily the movers showed up on time. They were very pleasant, very knowledgeable, and helpful. I was surprised that the representative was one of the movers. It did send up a red flag to me, but heck they were great and I didn’t question it. I could not believe how long it took them to move everything out of our place. They started about 9am and ended at 3pm. They have to label each item with a number and write it down. This is to ensure that when you receive your goods, you know what has been delivered and what is missing.

As the process was winding down, they gave me an itemized list and then they discuss a delivery date. I was hoping for a 7 day delivery but they gave me a 14 day delivery date.  I was very hopeful when the head mover stated our load was pretty significant and it should get their earlier. I said, OK.

They left and we headed out of town. Our first stop was in Davenport, IA and here we realized that our kids were sick. One started throwing up before we arrived at the hotel and then the rest of the kids followed suit. We weren’t sure if we should just lay low in the motel or keep pushing onward. I thought we had to keep going as to make sure we arrived before the moving company. It was actually nice, because the kids were sleeping most of the day and weren’t complaining. We then stopped off in Kearney, NE for the night and also to see some family we hadn't in many years. We then got back on the road the next day and stopped off in Wyoming. It was very cold. The arctic something was passing through and it was in the negative. Again, we needed to keep pressing onward because we might be getting a delivery soon. Again, pressing on and we landed in twin falls, ID the next night. During all of this, we were keeping in touch with the moving company. They would tell us that our load had not been picked up yet and they were hopeful it would be picked up soon. The next morning, we stopped off in Boise to pick up our puppy. We then had a 3 hour drive to our destination. We still had no word regarding our delivery.

are at our new house now and the anticipation, stress of driving, and lack of comfort overwhelmed us. It was now Dec. 8^th. I began phoning our moving company everyday to find out the status of our stuff. I began to get the feeling of being duped and now a bit helpless. I didn't understand why our load was still sitting there after all of these days. If it continues to sit, there is no way they are going to make the Dec. 20^th deadline. I even had my hubby call the owner to inquire about a timeline. The owner couldn’t tell us. They had no drivers to pick up the load. I realize that we live in a rural area and that it would take a bit longer, but this is something they should have informed us about from the beginning.

I knew we were in trouble and that it was possible we would not get our stuff before Christmas. My heart sank and I was getting overly emotional. We were in our dream home and it would be our first Christmas without a tree or decorations. I know, some people in the world don’t have a roof and that I should be happy with what I have, but that was not how I saw it. I was paying them for a service and I wanted my stuff. I decided to contact the corporate office and see if there was something that could be done. I recently saw a friend of mine post something on a facebook to a corporate site and I was surprised to see they sent her a message back. I thought I would do the same, except send it via a message. I was pleasantly surprised they responded the next day and were very helpful. I am not sure exactly what the corporate office did for the local office, but we received a call from the local office owner. He stated that they were working on getting a driver out to us but it would not arrive by the 20^th. Again, my heart sank, but they said we would get it before Christmas. That was exactly what I wanted and was very happy.

Each day as the driver was trucking along; the owner would phone us to tell us where the driver was and give us our delivery date. They thought it might arrive on Sunday, but that Monday was a better date.

The morning of the 23^rd was nerve racking as well. Rich had to go into work and I was left dealing with the movers, 3 kids and a puppy. I thought how in the heck am I going to do this, but you know…..you just do it. When the movers arrived, they could not get up our drive way with a semi-truck. In fact, they couldn’t even make the turn into our driveway. So, they had to do what is called a shuttle truck. They rented a Uhaul, unloaded the semi and put into the Uhaul.

When they arrived with the Uhaul, they couldn’t get up our driveway. We have a steep grade and it had rained/sleeted the night before. I had no idea how this was going to work and how they were going to manage. I just knew my stuff was on that truck and I wanted it. Somehow, the driver figured out a way to get up the drive. He was a very smart man.

The first bit of bad news was that his helper had broken my vacuum cleaner. It was an early Dyson and cost a pretty penny. I wasn’t sure exactly how they were going to handle it, but I just wanted them to unload the truck. The 2^nd bit of bad news was that all of our stuff would not fit onto this Uhaul and that they needed to go get another load. I knew this was going to be a very long day.

As they had unloaded they would give me a number to check off a number sheet like bingo. Normally they have a 3^rd person doing this and helping, but they were down a man. I was juggling taking care of the kids, the dog, fire in the stove, and playing bingo. I caught a bit of a break when the wife of one of Rich’s co-workers came over to help. I didn’t know she was arriving and really didn’t know her, but was grateful for her assistance.

I didn’t win the bingo contest, after all was done 3 boxes seemed to be missing. We had to go around and check the boxes to see if we could locate them. We found one right away, but the other 2 seemed a mystery. After 9 hours, I was exhausted and really didn’t care what was going to happen next. The driver offered us some money for the repair of the vacuum and the missing boxes. I had no idea what we should do and Rich was on his way home. I asked them to wait for him to make the decision.

They graciously waited and we settled on an amount. I felt so bad because this driver took up our load so close the Christmas. He said it was business and this was better for him than for us to make a claim.

We did find out that the 2^nd box or item was mislabeled with something else and wasn’t missing at all. We still have not located box 176 and we have about 15 boxes to unpack (none of them have 176 on them). As my Mom stated, we’ll know we are missing something when it comes time to use it.

All in all, moving is stressful. If you are moving across country, just count on it being doubly stressful. I was very grateful to all of the movers and they worked really hard. This is why there is no perfect moving company. They have too many moving parts that one local office cannot control.

Did I choose the right company? Yes, I was very fortunate. 

Really, Idaho?

I thought I would start a blog about our life in Idaho. Some of you have requested it and others probably are curious to hear what the heck is going on with us. 

I am going to take us back to how it all started. We had been unhappy living in Hyde Park doing our normal daily routines. I wanted more space for the kids and a safer environment. Our original goal was to live in Hyde Park for 1 year and then we would move to the suburbs. As time grew on, we became more comfortable where we were and continued on a regular routine. We would venture out on the weekends fighting traffic just to get out of the city to do activities with our kids. Rich's commute was also so convenient that we only used one car which meant we had free rein to go anywhere. We would often take advantage of the free days at the museum's or join up with friends. 

Rich work was not getting any better and when the sequester happened, we knew things were not looking good. We would always think if he got a good score on a grant or if he got this paper published. We continued with this game for the entire 7 years and thought for sure he would get some acknowledgement for his work. He has worked countless hours, weekends, holidays, and nights taking time away from us. 

We had been talking about a change and moving, but always joked about it. Moving to the Northwest? Yeah, right. I had been pestering Rich about going West on a camping excursion since the prior year he spent a ton on camping equipment. I wanted to be sure we had gotten our money out of it. It was the end of May and we had already planned on meeting up with our HS group for an annual camping trip at the end of June. What were we going to do for the summer? Instead, Rich decided we should immediately plan our trip right away and can we leave tomorrow? I said sure, I just went grocery shopping and we could pull it all together quickly. I had learned from my HS group about storing all of your camping gear in a box for easy transport. We already had all of our other gear in our Thule, so leaving right away was no problem. Our next issue was where are we going? 

Ironically, we headed north and westerly. We had a plan to go through WI, MN, ND, MT, WY and on to the eastern part of Idaho camping along the way. We stopped to see a few sights, but our schedule was tight as we had to make it back in time for our HS campout in WI. When we arrived in Idaho we were pleasantly surprised at its beauty and all it had to offer. Mountains, lakes, less traffic, nice people, and no humidity. Again, we joked about living here and how the heck could we do it. As we were racing back home, the kids started to get sick and we were tired of camping. Oh, I forgot to mention during our camping trip we had encountered: tons of mosquitoes (MN), freezing rain/weather (WY), primitive camping (MT), sprinklers going off in the middle of the night and during a rainstorm (SD), and rainstorms following us as we racing home. We had enough with Mother Nature and wanted the comfort of our own house. We also had to return to realty and worry about Rich's tenure talk. 

Rich had delayed tenure by 1 year because we had Jillian. We thought giving us one more year would give us more time to ensure his spot. He had done some amazing things within his time and thought he was very valuable. His department suggested that perhaps of tenure, to have be promoted for 3 years instead. Given the economy and his lack of financial support, this was a good option. He scheduled his promotion talk in July and then it was up to his department to decide whether or not to support him. Rich had a very wise colleague who said, "Keep your options open." This is when he began planning in case the other shoe dropped.

Now that we had seen Idaho, how is it possible we would ever be able to afford living here and raise our kids? This was the question we had asked ourselves for the longest time. We ran into a man who was from Michigan and he too, was asking the same question. He said he didn't care what it took, even working in the grocery store, but he wanted to move to Idaho. 

Rich began his search and came across the idea of tagging trees in the forest. A seasonal job that paid very well. It would mean he would be gone during the week and we would have to live very very modestly. We call this plan: a van down by the river. We would potentially live in the woods with a trailer or sorts and figure out how to "live off the land." I am not kidding when I say this was an option. 

He applied all around and not just in Idaho. He applied for all types of jobs in/around his home town in Indiana. He discovered there were 3 bio-tech companies in/around Idaho and began making connections. Something somewhere had to have an opening and he would do anything to get his foot in the door. 

Meanwhile, the buzz from his department was a unanimous to put Rich before the Dean and be promoted for another 3 years. Shortly after this news, Rich heard from a company in Pullman, WA about an opening he applied and went for an interview in September. We were very excited about the interview and wondered where life would take us. They rented him a car for the weekend and he went looking at properties with a realtor. The thought this was going to reality was scary. 

After the interview, Rich felt very positive about the position and now had a tough decision about whether to remain as a professor or switch careers. For some strange reason of events, both jobs stalled through-out the month of October. We didn't know what was going on because there was little communication. Poor Rich had to continue working not knowing his fate. It didn't really matter either way, because his professor job never failed to dump a ton of work on him. He was too busy to worry. 

The world came crashing down on us on October 30. The head of his department scheduled a meeting to discuss his fate with the university. The Dean had turned down the departments recommendation to allow him to continue for 3 years. We were in shock. In fact, his whole department and many other faculty he worked closely with were shocked as well. He had until June of 2014 to wrap up everything and find another job. I didn't sleep well that night and my stress level was immense and Halloween was the next day. 

For me, Halloween 2013 was the worst day ever. All I could think about was what was going to happen now? Rich had worked so hard and sacrificed so much for his job. Both of us had given up a tremendous amount of time and energy. How could this be and what do we do now? I had to put on a brave face for my kids and celebrate this wonderful holiday. I do say looking back that I was delighted that I did because I loved to see their little faces all excited to get candy. As they were dumping their loot and ogling over their pieces, Rich said to me did you see the email from HR in Idaho?  

I had no idea they finally sent some correspondence and found out they wanted references in order to proceed with his application. A huge sigh of relief washed over my body. I really felt a huge weight lifted and hope returned.  

In some way, we feel that the dean actually gave Rich a way out. How was he going to explain asking for references when his department wanted him to stay? The saying, "things happen for a reason" really is true. He asked for references and the following week an offer was made. After some negotiating, the offer was accepted and now the whirlwind of packing, finding a place to live, and dealing with movers begins. 

What will life be like in Idaho? Stay tuned and find out...